Snow Balled
by Science-Fantasy93
Summary: This year's Christmas vacation isn't what Katie hoped it would be. All she wants is for James to finally see her as more than a little girl, but getting run over by Carlos on skis and tripping on too-high wedge boots just doesn't seem to be working. But how else is she going to prove to him that she's all grown up and ready for him?


**_Here's my Christmas one shot! This is dedicated to Dana2184 who's one of the sweetest and most patient girls ever. She asked me a good six months ago or so to do a snowboarding or skiing one shot, and, well, obviously it took me on the closer side of a year to get it up. So Dana, thank you for being so patient! I hope you like it!_  
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**_Disclaimer: All I want for Christmas is Big Time Rush/Big Time Rush/Big Time Rush/All I want for Christmas is Big Time Rush/But I don't own them/So oh well._**

**_Warnings: Language, innuendos, and mild sexual content._**

**_So, I have never been snowboarding or skiing in my life. The resort mentioned is this story is a real place in WA, but I've never been there. It's in the Olympic National Park for those of you who are interested in a WA stage geography lesson. But basically, the Olympics are a mountain range, which I'm guessing has something to do with why the resort was built there - or in that general area, because I'm not too sure about the exact location of either the mountain range, or the park (sorry, don't live in that particular area of WA) - in the first place. So, if any of you do ski or snowboard or have been there, I'm really, really sorry for any mistakes I've made in this. I was doing my best to double and triple check everything, but I probably still screwed up somewhere. So, please forgive me in advance? *Blinks hopefully*._**

**_Merry (early) Christmas and Happy Holidays! Enjoy the story! :)_**

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**Katie's POV**

I hate it when the guys are right. I really do. Because when they're right, that usually means that I'm wrong, and then I end up in a bad situation that, if they hadn't been right, I wouldn't have gotten into in the first place.

Although yeah, okay, this one was my fault. If I hadn't been trying to show off, I probably wouldn't have ended up here anyway. But still. It would be nice if the guys could give me some credit for my (questionable) athletic abilities. Granted, I have none. But that doesn't mean they have to make jokes about me every time I try to do something more athletic than walking around 2J.

They had gone snowboarding and skiing before, making frequent trips to resorts in Colorado in spring, but this Christmas, they wanted to be someplace with snow, a Jacuzzi, and a roaring fireplace. And for some reason, they chose a resort in Washington state. Yeah. Some random state that we don't have any connections to. Although, I have to give them credit. They actually did their research. They chose the place with the freakiest name: Hurricane Ridge. Yeah, that's the real, honest-to-God name. Hurricane Ridge. Because that's just the kind of place I'd want to go skiing or snowboarding at. Ooh, maybe Tornado Mountain! That sounds like just as much fun.

The guys did not appreciate my sarcasm. Kendall informed me that my tongue was not invited on the trip. Logan told me that strong levels of pessimism induce early-set depression. Carlos asked me if I was PMSing. James was the only one who didn't have anything rude to say. He just shrugged and said, "She's kind of got a point."

At which point, Carlos replied, "I hope we get a snow hurricane while we're there! How sick would that be?!"

"There's no such thing as a snow hurricane! You're talking about a blizzard," Logan replied.

"I am? They have a McDonald's up there?"

"Not the dessert! The snow hurricane!"

"You just said there's no such thing as a snow hurricane," Carlos said in confusion.

Kendall chuckled and went back to texting Jo, while James and I grinned at each other. We were heading to the airfield to board the helicopter that Kendall had insisted that Gustavo charter to take us to Washington. I'm not positive that was entirely safe, but no one complained (too much) so I went with it. I was starting to regret that though, now that I had remembered just how small helicopters were. It was Christmas eve, and I couldn't help but think how sad it would be to die the day before Christmas in a helicopter accident due to it being overweight.

Mom, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie had wanted to go with us, but Mom was back home in Minnesota for Christmas, and the girls were with their families in North Carolina, Connecticut, and New York, which is why it was just me with the guys.

"There isn't a snow hurricane! It's called a blizzard!"

"Why do you keep getting weather and fast food restaurants mixed up?" Carlos wanted to know. "They're two different things."

Kendall wheeled around from the front seat of the car to look at him. "You grew up in Minnesota with us. How do you not know what a blizzard is?"

"I know what a blizzard is. You get it at McDonald's and – "

"McDonald's stole the term," Logan informed him. "A blizzard is a huge snow storm – essentially a snow hurricane."

Carlos' brow winkled. "That's so confusing. And it doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

Logan shrugged. "Sorry."

We reached the airfield-thing where the helicopter was, and made our way across it towards the helicopter.

Logan raised his eyebrows at me. "Are you sure you're dressed appropriately for the snow?"

"What're you talking about?" I demanded. I looked cute. Like, snow bunny cute. I was in a black miniskirt over skintight leggings, a blue tank top, a black sweatshirt, and blue velvet wedge booties. I had a heavy coat and gloves on hand for when it started getting cold. And if I do say so myself, the skirt, wedges, and leggings made my legs look awesome. I could tell by the way James' eyes kept on wandering down to my thighs and calves. Not that I minded in the least. I'd had a teeny tiny crush on him for a little while – about two years – and, since he wasn't big on skiing, but he loved snowboarding – the opposite of the guys – I figured I could ask him to give me snowboarding lessons and let him play the big, strong man. All while wearing jeans that made my ass and legs look fantastic.

That was the plan, anyway. But Logan was not helping. He was acting like I hadn't thought my attire out in the least, like I was just some stupid fourteen year old girl who thought fashion was more important than comfort. Hellooo, I was wearing a baggy sweatshirt and sacrificing showing off my chest. Did he not notice that? I guess he didn't really care, considering what his next words were:

"Because your legs are probably going to be getting cold, and those shoes aren't exactly snow-proof – or stable."

I hmmphed. Pessimist. And then I showed him just how stable they were by stumbling over a lone stick in the grassy and not falling. See, if my shoes hadn't been stable, I would have landed flat on my face. It didn't even matter that James caught me before that could happen. It had nothing to do with me remaining upright.

The other guys smirked but I ignored them, instead letting James steady me. We finally reached the helicopter, a six seater, and Kendall immediately scooted into the front seat, leaving Logan and Carlos to get into the backseat. James crawled into the middle seat, behind the pilot, and I climbed up beside him. The toe of my shoe caught on something – probably the step – and sent me flying across his lap, so that my hand was in very close proximity with his zipper.

My bad.

James raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm flattered, I really am, but don't you think maybe we should do this somewhere a little more private?"

I blushed. "Shut up." Flattening my hands on his thighs – ooh, muscles and hardness – I pushed myself up onto my knees, and then pitched forward again when the helicopter started shaking.

"Incoming!" the helicopter called as he tossed our bags into the helicopter, narrowly missing our heads, shoulders, chests, legs, vital organs.

"Why is our luggage coming in?" James asked. "Aren't we sending it via…something that isn't a packed helicopter?"

"Nope. Gustavo said to just throw it in here."

"Ah…"

Twenty minutes later, we were in the air and on our way to Washington via jam packed helicopter.

After what might as well have been a week in the helicopter, the pilot announced, "We'll be there soon."

"The view from here is amazing!" Kendall crowed happily.

The rest of us glowered at him from where we were crammed in. Kendall and the pilot were the only ones who weren't uncomfortably crowded, with suitcases and duffel bags packing us in like packing peanuts in a snow globe box.

Beside me, James shifted uncomfortably, and nearly knocked over a dangerously towering pile of suitcases.

"Careful!" Kendall cried. "Don't topple everything over!"

"I'll do my best not to move," James retorted through gritted teeth.

"Good. Because I'm pretty sure if those things fell, the helicopter would crash."

"I have a question," I spoke up. "Why couldn't we just take Griffin's private jet?"

"Because Griffin needs his private jet…And besides, helicopters are cool!" Kendall answered brightly.

I glared furiously at the back of his head. "Isn't there a weight requirement for helicopters?"

"Yeah. The passenger weight maximum is two-hundred-and-fifty pounds," the pilot informed me cheerfully.

"I think the suitcases go over that by a couple hundred pounds," I snapped.

In the very back, Logan was hyperventilating into a paper bag. "OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod we're going to die!" he kept whimpering. Apparently he doesn't like helicopters too much. Wonderful time for us to find that out. Carlos had resorted to patting Logan's shoulder, while asking the pilot questions about helicopter crashes.

Not exactly the kind of conversation you want to listen to when you're in an overweight helicopter.

"Dude!" James finally snapped at Carlos. "Shut up!"

"What? I'm just asking…"

"There was a fatal helicopter crash a few years back. The helicopter went down because the weight requirement was exceeded," the pilot announced.

Where's a parachute when you need one?

James, Logan, and I all exchanged horrified looks. If it wasn't for the aforementioned lack of parachutes, I think we would have all gone for a sudden skydive from the helicopter. Granted, James probably would have had to hold both Logan and me, since Logan was in full-freak-out mode, and I have a deep hatred of heights, as in, heights and me are basically Voldemort and Harry Potter. Or maybe giant spiders and Ron Weasley. Yeah, definitely more giant spiders and Ron. Poor guy. All he wanted was to help his best friend, and he ended up getting chased by a bunch of spiders that look like something out of a science fiction horror movie.

"That's horrible!" Carlos cried. "Did people die?"

We all turned to gape at him.

Logan said, through his paper bag, "Carlos, it was a _fatal_ crash."

Carlos blinked. "I know. So, people did die?"

"Yeah. And then they turned into zombies, and now they go around, eating people's brains," I deadpanned.

His eyes widened. "_Really_?"

"Uh huh. In Never-Never Land."

"That really exists?"

"Yeah, in your imagination."

Carlos pouted at me. "That was mean. I was starting to think the Tooth Fairy really does exist."

James yelped. "The Tooth Fairy doesn't exist?!"

I gaped at him. "How old are you again…?"

"Don't say that! The Tooth Fairy exists!"

"Yeah, and so does Santa Clause…"

"He does!"

"No he doesn't!"

"LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" James clapped his hands over his ears. "HERESY!"

I pulled his right hand away from his right ear. "YOU'RE CRAZY!"

"YOU'RE EVIL!"

"YOU'RE IMMATURE!"

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Logan screamed.

"I'M SURROUNDED BY CRAZIES!" Kendall yelled.

"Are all of your vacations like this?" the pilot asked Kendall.

"Believe me," Kendall said to him. "You have no idea."

"It must be a nonstop party," the pilot replied cheerfully.

Kendall gave him a long look. I had a feeling he was regretting insisting that we take a helicopter. Good. If we were going to die from an overweight helicopter, the least Kendall could do was feel remorseful and regretful.

We finally landed at an air field and we all spilled out, stumbling slightly in our haste to get away from the helicopter.

We ended up taking car to the hotel we were staying at. As we got further and further into the mountains, the snow began piling up.

Once we reached the hotel, we checked in and headed up to our rooms. Since I was the only girl, I got my own room. One of the perks of being a girl, I guess.

The room was nice, for what it was worth. Two queen sized beds, a TV, a Jacuzzi, a fireplace, a Christmas tree, and a balcony, from where I could see the slopes.

I unpacked and, was just about to change clothes, when there was a knock on my door. I headed over to it, unlocked it, and opened it. James stood there, hands in his pockets.

"What's up?" I asked him as I leaned against the doorframe.

"Kendall, Logan, and Carlos are going to go hit the big slopes," he informed me. "I was wondering if you wanted to go hang out in the lounge or something."

I blinked at him. "Oh…well…sure…"

"It's just, I know you don't really like snowboarding or skiing and you always fall when you get anything strapped to your feet – " his eyes wandered down to my wedges which I still hadn't kicked off " – so I figured it'd be safer for everyone if we just stayed in the lounge or whatever."

"Are you suggesting I'm clumsy?" I demanded because, hello, not clumsy in the least!

His lips twitched slightly. "No, of course not, not at all. You're just…accident prone."

I puffed myself up to my full height of five foot two – well, okay, it's actually five feet exactly, but it just sounds so small. Five foot two sounds almost average…kinda-ish.

"I'm not accident prone!" I informed him. "And I will prove it to you!"

His lips twitched again, like he was trying not to smile in amusement. "And how're you going to do that?" he asked me in a let's-patronize-the-little-girl voice. I know it well. All the guys use it on me on a regular basis, like they've conveniently forgotten that I'm eighteen and a legal adult. I mean, come on, I can vote now! I can get arrested! And in some provinces in Canada, I can drink in public. Oh, and I'm at the age of consent. So, yeah, not a little girl anymore.

Buuuuttt…I'm an opportunist. Here was the perfect time to knock an alligator out with two rocks.

I looked up at him and went for what I hoped was a seductive pose. It basically involved cocking my hip and sticking my chest out at him. "You could teach me how to snowboard."

He started laughing. Not the reaction I had been going for…

"I'm serious," I said huffily. "I want you to teach me to snowboard."

He paused. "Oh. You're serious."

I scowled. "Well, if you don't want to…"

"No, no, I'll do it, I'll teach you," he said quickly. "But, I mean, you have to admit that the idea of you snowboarding is kind of funny…I mean, you're not exactly…" he made circular motions with his right hand as if trying to conjure the right word. "Athletic," he finally settled on. "You're not exactly into sports. You're more of the hang-out-in-the-lounge-and-play-pool-and-drink-hot-chocolate-or -eggnog-with-Irish-cream kind of girl."

"I'm not legal in the U.S…"

"You'd sneak in the Irish cream."

"Oh. Okay."

He nodded. "So, if I'm going to teach you to snowboard, you better go get changed. Oh, and those shoes are not invited."

I scowled but let him inside, closing the door once he was in the room.

"Nice place," James commented, looking around. "Oh! Luckeeee! You have a Jacuzzi!"

I chuckled. James loves Jacuzzis. I think they're a secret kink of his or something, because he only seems to go in them with his girl of the moment. "Feel free to use it," I told him as I pulled out jeans and a sweater. "I don't know how much use I'll be getting out of it."

He stared at me, looking horrified. "But – but – you have to go in the Jacuzzi! It'd be a crime if you didn't!"

I shrugged. "I'm not going into it alone. It seems boring."

"Then you're going in it with me. I'll show you how amazing it feels."

I blinked. Did he realize how that had just sounded…?

He blinked back, a look of comprehension beginning to cross his face. "Um…I didn't mean it like that…I meant…"

"Just turn around so that I can change," I told him.

"Will do," he said quickly and spun around.

I quickly stripped, kicking off my shoes, pulling off my shirt, sliding down my skirt, and rolling down my leggings. I pulled on the jeans and sweater, slipped my feet into my snow boots, and bent over away from James, catching my hair in a high ponytail.

"Okay, you can look," I told him as I spun back around. He turned to face me, just as I caught sight of the mirror on the wall in front of me. "There's a mirror there…"

He glanced over his shoulder. "Is there? Are you sure? Huh, guess there is. Funny, I didn't notice that before…" Which pretty much told me that he had been watching me get changed.

"Uh huh. Sure. Let's go."

James led me down to the Rent-A-Snowboard shop, where we got snowboards. I was jealous. He got a big ass snowboard that was practically the length of my body, while I got stuck with a tiny one.

"You go by the rider's height and weight," James explained to me. "Conditions and terrain are also an important factor, but for something like this, we'll go by your stats."

Which would explain why I looked like I was riding a Tupperware lid next to him and his giant board.

We also rented snowboarding gear – snow pants, snow jackets, bindings, boots, that kind of thing. Once we had paid for everything, James led me to what I was pretty sure were the bunny slopes – in other words, the hill that was so flat that if it had been any flatter, it would have been concave.

I stared at James. "This is where you want to teach me to snowboard."

"Yep," he answered.

"But this isn't even a hill!"

"Which is why it's perfect for teaching you to stand up on your board."

I had to learn to stand up on my board? Like, that was an actual lesson?!

James grinned when he saw the look on my face. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be a natural. Come on, I'll help you."

He helped me into the boots and strapped me in. I yelped as the board wiggled slightly beneath me and grabbed James' arm, clinging to him. "It's moving!"

"It's supposed to," he said patiently. "That's the whole point."

"It shouldn't be moving! It doesn't have wheels!"

"Remind me to never take you surfing."

"Make it stop!"

By this time, we were getting stares from the other people on the non-existent hill as they made their way to the lifts.

"Can't you control your girlfriend?" one guy called to James. "She's acting like a snowboard bunny."

"That's because she is one," James snapped. "Mind your own business, it's not like we're on the advanced slopes."

I noticed at once that he didn't correct the jerk about me being his girlfriend...

The guy rolled his eyes, but headed for the lift anyway.

James turned back to me. "Okay, so, I'm going to slowly step away from you. I'll catch you if you start to fall."

I bit my lip and nodded, not wanting to act like a snowboard bunny. I probably already looked stupid enough without throwing scaredy cat into the mix.

James slowly pulled his arm back and I braced myself. After several seconds, I was still upright! I beamed at him.

"Does this make me a natural?"

"Uh, no."

"It doesn't? Why not?"

"Because your board's so buried in snow that its stuck."

Well, damn.

So much for impressing James with my snowboarding abilities.

James helped me get the board out and we tried again. When he let go of me the second time, I toppled forward slightly and he grabbed me. "Once again."

It was a good five tries later before I could even balance for more than a few seconds. But James seemed pleased with my progress, and before long, I had my snow legs pretty well. Before long, he suggested that we head for the actually bunny slopes.

He helped me get onto the ski lift (it may or may not have taken me three tries to get into one of the seats – I wasn't counting) and we headed up. Getting off the ski lift was just as tricky as getting on, if not even scarier, because it involved hopping down onto a board that could slide out from under you at any second. James kept a strong hold on me when we dismounted so that I wouldn't fall, and somehow I did manage to preserve what was left of my dignity. So, about a quarter of an eyedropper's worth.

The bunny slope was completely deserted, which was nice. It meant that only James would witness my complete humiliation.

However, James didn't seem to feel as relieved as I did. On the contrary, he looked around and frowned a little. "That's weird. We shouldn't be the only people here…"

"Katie! James! Check it out!" came an all-too familiar voice from behind us.

James and I both turned around and our eyes widened as we saw Carlos skiing down the snowboarding bunny slope.

What about this picture doesn't make sense?

"What the fuck?!" James managed to bellow out before trying to pull me out of the way. It didn't work too well. I couldn't move very well on my snowboard – I'd pretty much been waddling and doing the hula to get around – and before he could get me more than a couple of inches, Carlos, who had always been a danger on skis anyway, rammed right into me, bringing me down the slope with him.

"Hi, Katie!" he chirped as if he wasn't pretty much dragging me down a hill with our skis and snowboard getting tangled up.

"Let me go!" I shrieked. "Carlos Garcia, if you don't let me go – !"

"Relax! Isn't this fun?"

"No! We're going to fall – " Before I could completely finish my sentence, we were pitched forwards as my board slipped under his skis and upturned them. We rolled down the hill in a snow covered bundle, snowboard and skis flailing around everywhere. Somehow, one of his skis managed to get loose and it went flying off into the distance. I thought I heard a screech of pain somewhere in that general area, but I was too busy trying to keep from getting all the bones broken in my body and keeping my head on my neck.

You'd think we would have stopped by now, that our ski and snowboard would have slowed us down and acted like a brake, but they seemed to do just the opposite. They were like a gears and levers, pushing us forward even faster.

And that's when, looming up in the distance, I saw warning cones and orange tape – that would be why no one was snowboarding in this area. I immediately tried to keep us still, but considering I was so tiny and there were other forces at work, it didn't work very well.

"Carlos!" I screamed. "Carlos! Oh my God – !" I could see the ditch now, a huge hole that was probably supposed to be getting filled up.

Carlos' eyes widened in alarm as he realized just what we were heading towards, and he let out a shriek.

He tried to keep his weight still, but by now, we were pretty much a very large snowball that just kept gathering momentum. We were closing in on the cones now, mere yards away from them.

We passed right by them, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark blue blur and the whoosh of a snowboard.

We were feet from the orange tape when I felt us crash into someone's legs. The snow exploded and the breath was temporarily knocked out of me, leaving me gasping. Once I had gotten my breath back, I rolled over a little and found myself looking up into James' face. It had been him who had saved us.

"What I don't understand," Carlos said as he got up on one foot and began to hop around, searching for his missing ski, "is what you two are doing on the skiing slopes."

"Carlos, this is the bunny slopes – for snowboarding," James informed him as he helped me up.

"Ohhh…My bad. I must have taken a wrong turn or something."

James shook his head but didn't comment on how much Carlos really needed a built-in GPS system. Instead, he asked us, "Are you two okay? It looked like the board and skis were kind of tangled up together, but I couldn't really see too well. But I did see your spill." He brushed the snow off my clothes and off my face, like a mother cat licking her kittens clean. He grabbed my hat and began to shake it out, before combing the snow out of my hair.

"Gee, James, I'm sure she has some snow in her shirt, why don't you try to get that out?" Carlos said with a pout.

"Huh?"

"You're not brushing _me_ off."

"Oh, sorry." James helped him get the majority of the snow off, before turning back to me. "Are you okay? Bruised? Any bones broken? Anything at all?"

I shook my head. "Just sore and cold."

"Come on, let's head back to the hotel. We'll get in the Jacuzzi and drink hot chocolate and stuff."

I nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

"Aren't I invited?" Carlos whined. "I'm sore and cold too!"

"You and Logan have a Jacuzzi," James told him. "Go get in there."

"Rude."

James shrugged, but pushed away. A moment later, he returned with Carlos' ski. "Try to keep it on your foot this time."

Carlos rolled his eyes. "So, I'm being ditched for Katie?"

James glanced at me and smiled slightly. "Yeah, you are."

"Fine. Go make out with her. I'll be fine. All alone. Bruised, with possible broken bones. Just limping along. I can't move very fast, so if someone tried to mug me, it wouldn't be a problem. But I guess, since you like Katie so much, you don't really care…"

James rolled his eyes. "I'll get Logan and Kendall to take care of you. But then I'm taking care of Katie."

Carlos perked up. "Thanks, James! And about time. By the way," he added in a stage whisper, "I think she likes you."

Even though it was probably about twenty degrees outside and I had recently been turned into a snowball, my cheeks heated up.

James stage whispered back, "Let's hope she does!" with a smile at me.

Carlos beamed. "JATIE FOR THE WIN!" he hollered as he began to make his way down the path in the direction of the ski lifts.

James and I shook our heads at each other, but followed after him.

We didn't talk during the ride back to the hotel, or when we dropped Carlos off with Logan and Kendall, who were fighting like cats and dogs. In fact, when James asked Kendall, who was blocking the door to their shared hotel room, to move aside so that he could get his swim trunks and a towel, Kendall stormed into the room, ripped open James' suitcase, grabbed a pair of swim trunks and a towel, and hurled them at James' face, before turning back to continue arguing with Logan.

James pulled the swim trunks off his head and slung the towel over his arm. "Yeah, I'm definitely not coming back here for awhile."

"Let's go." I tugged him the ten feet down the hall to my room and let us in. He took the bathroom so that he could change into his swim trunks, and I did a quick strip. I hurriedly slipped into my bikini and grabbed a towel. I glanced over my body and immediately spotted several bruises forming. Shaking my head, my attention was switched over to James as he came out of the bathroom, dressed in swim trunks. And he was shirtless. Which, yeah, you would expect. But even after all these years, it's still amazing to see him bare chested. For one thing, there's his muscles. For another thing, there's his muscles. And for a third thing, there's his muscles.

I bit my lip, trying not to make it obvious that I was staring at his abs and the V of his hips. "Um…yeah, Jacuzzi," I managed to get out. We headed out and we climbed in, both sighing in relief as we sat down in the bubbling hot water.

"So, let me see your bruises," James said after a few moments. He gently pulled me towards him and began to examine my upper body, checking to see where bruises were blossoming. He did a quick check to make sure none of my bones were broken – because I wouldn't have noticed that immense pain or anything if that had happened – and then pulled back. "You'll need ice."

"I know." I winced and shifted, rolling my shoulders. It felt like it had gotten snapped against a couple of boulders and then got ran over by a dump truck.

"Your shoulder?" James asked.

"Yeah. I must have rolled on it wrong or something."

"Is there a right way to roll down a mountain?"

"If there is, then if I ever go snowboarding again, I'm going to need to learn the technique."

He chuckled, before making me turn around so that my back was facing him. I let out a soft moan as he began to gently knead my shoulder, softly working out the kink in it. Oooh…

"Feel better?" he asked me.

"Much…"

After a few minutes, he moved to my other shoulder, working out the knots in it. Once he was finished with that, he began to knead and massage my back. I arched into him, closing my eyes. Oh yeah…oh yeah…

"Maybe I should hire you as my personal masseuse," I moaned out. "I'd pay you…I'd totally pay you…"

He chuckled. "I think it's the least I could do, considering I made fun of your athletic skills and saying that you're accident prone."

"Well, I don't have any athletic skills, and I am accident prone," I told him. "I only asked you to give me snowboarding lessons because I wanted to…well…I wanted to spend some one-on-one time with you. And I was hoping maybe if I was good at it, you'd stop treating me like Kendall's little sister."

His hands paused on my lower back. "That's why you wanted me to take you snowboarding?"

"Yeah…" I bit my lip and then spun around to face him. Our eyes locked for a long second, and then I leaned forward, pressing my lips to his. He kissed me back, hand going up to cup my cheek. I deepened the kiss, winding my arms around his neck as I slid closer to him. His other arm went around my waist, pulling me plush against him. I let out a soft moan against his lips, bringing one of my hands up to tangle my fingers in his hair.

After several long moments, he pulled back, breathing a little heavily. "I don't – I haven't seen you just as Kendall's little sister for over a year," he told me honestly. "I just never got the chance to let you know."

I blinked at him. "Really? You're not just saying that?"

He shook his head. "It's the truth."

My face split into a wide smile. "Good."

He smiled back and pulled me back to him so that he could kiss me again.

Eventually, we figured we'd soaked long enough, and we dragged ourselves out of the Jacuzzi and headed inside. We did quick rinses in the shower to get the Jacuzzi water off, and then changed into fresh clothes. By the time I had blow dried my hair, James had the electric fire going and had made hot chocolate as he had promised. Christmas music was playing from the radio on the counter, and he had plugged the Christmas tree lights in, so that it was lit up.

I smiled as he passed me a steaming mug and we sat down together on the rug in front of the fireplace.

I took a sip of the hot chocolate. Mmm…James made the best hot chocolate in the world, he always had.

"So, having a good Christmas vacation so far?" James asked me as he blew on his hot chocolate.

I smiled. "The best so far – save for becoming a snowball and then almost rolling into a ditch."

He chuckled. "You can thank Carlos for that."

"Definitely." I took another sip. "Gotta love Carlos. Of course he'd take a wrong turn on the ski slopes and end up on the snowboarding bunny slopes instead.

James nodded in agreement, drinking from his mug.

"So…" I said as I set my hot chocolate down.

"So…?"

I crawled into his lap and he put his own hot chocolate aside so that he could slip his arms around my waist.

"I think we have some time to kill before Kendall and Logan calm down and decide to check on us – if they even think about us," I corrected myself as I softly kissed his jaw.

"Mmm hmm…You know how they get…And then Carlos will doubtlessly be egging them on. You know how much he loves watching fights go down."

"Always has," I agreed, moving my lips down to his neck, and he tipped his head back a little, moaning softly.

"I don't know what we're going to do with him," James told me, sounding a little breathless.

"Mmm…we'll pass our Carlos-babysitting duties onto Kendall and Logan, teach them some responsibility."

"Sounds good…" his breath caught as I nipped softly at his skin. His fingers dug into my hips a little, pushing me closer to him. I pulled back and instead kissed him again. He kissed me back deeply. I raised my hand to cup his face, smiling into the kiss. He smiled back, deepening the kiss even more as he gently shifted us so that I was on my back on the rug in front of the fireplace, and he was hovering over me. I sighed and pulled him closer to me, feeling his body resting softly against mine.

After a few long moments, he pulled back and I lifted one of my hands, trailing my finger over his jaw and cheekbone. He leaned into my touch, eyes melting into mine. I traced his lips, and he pressed a kiss to my finger. "What do you want?" he murmured to me.

"You." And with that, I pulled him down for another kiss.

The room was warm, the radio still playing softly, as we laid together on the rug, bare limbs tangled together, my head resting on his chest as he stroked my hair. My eyes were closed and I could feel his chest raising and lowering with each breath he took and released.

"So far, the best Christmas vacation ever," James murmured, kissing the top of my head.

I opened my eyes and smiled up at him. "For sure. So, what'd you get me for Christmas?"

"Nah uh, I'm not telling. But believe me, you're going to love it."

"I'm sure I will." I kissed his shoulder before laying my head on his chest again. "I can't wait to open it."

The next morning, James shook me awake from where we had been laying together in my hotel bed.

I blinked at him sleepily, but then perked up when he handed me a small, wrapped box. I tore into it eagerly and smiled when I saw the midnight blue velvet box. I gently pried it open and my smile widened even more when I saw the diamond, heart-shaped necklace laying there. I lifted it and held it out to James. "Help me put it on?"

He nodded and I moved my hair aside so that he could fasten it around my neck. Once the two ends were attached, I let my hair fall back and I reached under the bed to get James his present. I retrieved it and passed it to him. He opened it and grinned. "You remembered!" Laying in the box was a gold watch with microphones as the watch's hands. He had seen it in a store in downtown LA and had pointed it out to me. I had gone down there the next day to buy it for him because I could see how much he had wanted it.

"I love it," he told me, kissing me.

"Good, I'm glad. And I love my necklace. It's beautiful, and it's perfect." I kissed him back. When we broke apart, I smiled again. "So, all in all a very good Christmas, don't you think?"

"Definitely," he agreed. "Even if you did get snowballed a little."

I laughed and whacked him with the pillow, before snuggling into his arms again.

* * *

_**So, how'd you guys like this? It wasn't quite as Christmas-y as I thought it would be, but other things kind of took over. And yes, I'm very much aware that quite a few of the events in the story are pretty unlikely. I'm not even sure they have six-seater helicopters, but for the sake of the story, we'll say they do, kay? :P Same goes for anything else you guys were rolling your eyes at. This is James and Katie and anything can happen with them, or at least that's my excuse.**_

_**So, review and let me know what you think! Hope you liked it :)**_


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